ITU Department of Industrial Product Design

Istanbul Technical University (ITU) Department of Industrial Product Design (DIPD)was established in 1993 as a response to the emerging needs of the Turkish industry for creative designers with strong technological, managerial and entrepreneurial skills. In Istanbul, the industrial and cultural capital of Turkey, ITU Dept. of Industrial Product Design provides design education of international standards at undergraduate and graduate (inc. PhD) levels in both languages, English and Turkish.

International Design Lectures: Nicolò Ceccarelli

Nicolò Ceccarelli have presented two sequent seminars at ITU Taskisla Campus at 8th and 9th July 2014, entitled Informative Animation:on Languages, Technique and Methodologies and 'Neo-local' design, Combining Tradition-Craftmanship-Design and Innovation. Nicolò Ceccarelli is Associate Professor in Industrial Design (ICAR 13) at the Alghero Department of Architecture and Planning (University of Sassari, Italy); where he leads a research unit and a teaching laboratory on 'Animation and Design', aiming to investigate new perspectives for the language of animation in Design communication.

ITU IPD celebrates World Industrial Design Day!

As an educational member of ICSID, Istanbul Technical University Department of Industrial Product Design celebrates World Industrial Design Day, June 29th!First declared in 2007 on the occasion of Icsids 50th anniversary, World Industrial Design Day has been established with the aim of promoting awareness of the profession of industrial design and facilitating collaborations that help to highlight the impact of industrial design on economic, social, cultural and environmental quality of life throughout the world.

Newsletter: 2014 Spring

The newsletter of Istanbul Technical University Department of Industrial Product Design, which covers the activities of/at our department during 2013-2014 spring semester has been published; and could be viewed from the following link. Turkish only

International Design Lectures: Veronica Dal Buono

Visiting our department from Ferrara University, Veronica Dal Buono presented a seminar at 12th May 2014, entitled "Stone remix. Surfaces". Veronica dal Buono is a Researcher Assistant in Industrial Design at Ferrara University since 2011. Combining her interest in design, materials application technologies and in the communication and representation of ideas, her research focuses on the relationship between man and matter, specifically on traditional materials such as stone, bricks, ceramics, conglomerates and paper, and the languages of actualization and configuration of these through innovative contemporary technologies.

International Design Lectures: Pekka Korvenmaa

At 8th April 2014, ITU Department of Industrial Product Design hosted Prof.Dr. Pekka Korvenmaa from Aalto University Art, Design and Architecture Faculty at ITU Taskisla Building. Korvenmaa had presented a seminar entitled "Alvar Aalto as Architect for Finnish Industry", where Aalto's impact on Finnish design and his Modernism approach was discussed.

The graduation projects were exhibited in Busworld, Kortrijk

The graduation project that was conducted in 2011/2012 Spring Semester in collaboration with the company Anadolu Isuzu (AIOS) with a theme 'Buses of 2030' were exhibited in Busword Fair, Kortrijk between 18-23 October. The students designed buses with a user-centred approach, by aiming at raising the well being of society and diminishing the environmental impact.

Farplas Project Awards

The successful students in the project that was conducted in 2012/2013 Spring Semester in collaboration with the company Farplas with a theme "A new travel experience" were awarded.

Press release regarding the IDA 2013

For the press release regarding the cancellation of the congress of the International Design Alliance (IDA) between 16-17 November 2013, please follow the link.

Sun Clock Design for the ITU Ayazaga Campus

The sun clock (41°06'28.80'' K ve 29°01'20.76'' D), which was designed with the contribution of our department, has been placed in ITU Ayazaga Campus.

Our alumni Omer Haciomeroglu won Gold IDSA Award

Our alumni Omer Haciomeroglu won the Gold IDSA Award the second time with a project that he design in UMEA Institute of Design MFA Program.

BetonART Summer Course

The BetonART Architecture Summer Course themed 'My ideal city' was conducted in Balikesir/Burhaniye between 210 July with the contribution of our department.

ITU Department of Industrial Product Design is in 'Masterclass: Product Design: Guide to World's Leading Graduate Schools' Book

ITU Department of Industrial Product Design has been one of 30 best schools included in 'Masterclass: Product Design: Guide to World's Leading Graduate Schools' book, published by Frame. For more information about the book, please follow the link.

Design for SMEs Project was exhibited in Innovation Congress

The selected works of "Design for SMEs" project that was conducted by ITU IPD in collaboration with the Istanbul Chamber of Industry (ISO) and with the financial support of Istanbul Development Agency (ISTKA) were exhibited in the 11th ISO Innovation Congress between 1920 December 2012 in Istanbul Congress Centre.

Design for SMEs Project Closing Meeting and Exhibition was carried out at Taskisla Campus, Istanbul Technical University, July 2012

With the financial support of Istanbul Development Agency (ISTKA), "Web Based Matching and Consultancy System Development between Newly Graduated Designers and SMEs" shortly called Design for SMEs, was ended with a closing meeting and an exhibition on the 12th of July at Taskisla Campus. The exhibition which continued until the 20th of July at Hall 102 in Taskisla building of ITU showcased the posters and prototypes of the products designed in the pilot project. For more information please follow the link. Turkish only

Turkey meets Finland

Turkey Meets Finland is a WDC event organized by Turkish Embassy Information Counsellor's Office, Caisa Culture Center, Istanbul Technical University and Turkish curator Gunseli Toker. It is a fascinating combination of Turkish art and design, consisting of two exhibitions, two seminars and two workshops. All the events are free of charge and don't require registration. Seminars and workshops are in English. For more information please follow the link.

ITU Industrial Design Meetings XII:Embedding Design in Life

ITU Industrial Design Meetings XII was held in Taskisla on December 16, 2012 in cooperation with the Finnish Embassy in Turkey, and in conjunction with the exhibition "Marimekko" in Milli Reasurans Sanat Galerisi. The both events were undertaken in the scope of the World Design Capital 2012 Helsinki program. For more information please follow the link.

The International Design Alliance (IDA) Congress, to be hosted by Istanbul Technical University (ITU) Dept. of Industrial Product Design in November 2013 in Istanbul, has been internationally launched in Taipei, capital of Taiwan (Chinese Taipei), under the scope of the inaugural IDA Congress. For more information please follow the link.Turkish only

The IDA 2013 Congress Event Agreement was signed between International Design Alliance (IDA) and ITU.

The Event Agreement among the partners of the International Design Alliance (IDA); Icsid, Icograda and IFI, and Istanbul Technical University (ITU) was signed on 16 April 2011 in Montreal, Canada where the IDA partners' central offices are located. The agreement was signed by the presidents of IDA partners Icsid, Icograda and IFI and Prof. Dr. Alpay Er, the head of the National Host Committee in Istanbul, and the Chairperson of ITU Dept. of IPD. Istanbul was unveiled as the host city for the IDA 2013 Congress by the board of IDA on 24 February 2011 and was announced worldwide. For more information please follow the link.

ITU to host International Design Alliance (IDA) 2013 Congress

Following an international competitive bid process, the city of Istanbul and Istanbul Technical University (ITU) were selected by the International Design Alliance (IDA) Executive Committee, to host the 2013 IDA Congress. ITU have been an educational member of Icsid since 2001. For the IDA Press release please follow the link.

Global Service Jam Istanbul hosted by ITU

ITU Dept. of Industrial Product Design, together with Bilende, were the local organisers to host the Istanbul chapter of Global Service Jam between 11-13 March 2011. Global Service Jam is an international initiative to support the young discipline of service design, and was held more than 50 cities worldwide. For more information about the Global Service Jam Istanbul at ITU please follow the link.

ITU Student is finalist with two projects in INDEX: DESIGN CHALLENGE 2010

Cansu Akarsu, a student of ITU Dept. of Industrial Product Design has been qualified for the final stage of INDEX: DESIGN CHALLENGE 2010. Currently an exchange student at the Korean Advanced Institute of Technology (KAIST), Cansu has managed to reach to the finals with her two projects; padBack and Soap Shish (a joint work with Eun Jung Lee of KAIST). Total of seven projects have been qualified for the finals of INDEX: DESIGN CHALLENGE 2010. For more information, please follow the link.

ITU represents Istanbul in "World Design Survey by IDA/ICOGRADA

ITU Dept. of Industrial Product Design is the collaborator representing Istanbul/ Turkey in the "World Design Survey" project, an IDA / ICOGRADA initiative to establish and maintain an international framework measuring the contribution of the design economy and the level of strategic engagement by government in using design as socio-economic developmental enabler. ITU was also the participant representing Istanbul in the Asian Design Survey 2009 (Pilot Study). For more information follow the link.

ITU joins "Design Your Profit" Project as an International Partner

ITU Dept. of Product Design has joined among the international partners of "Design for Your Profit" project that was initiated by the Institute of Industrial Design, which is the leading body of research, training and consultancy in strategic design management in Poland. The other international partners of the project which aims at conducting research into and training for design management needs of companies are Design Flanders, Design Management Institute (DMI) and TU Delft Faculty of Industrial Design Engineering. Follow the link for more information.

ITU hosts "Contemporary Japanese Industrial Design Exhibition"

ITU hosted the exhibition of Contemporary Japanese Industrial Design" between 11- 26 October 2010 in Taskisla building. The exhibition included 105 classic examples of Japanese industrial design, and was organized as part of the "2010 Japanese Year in Turkey" events. For more information (in Turkish) and pictures from the exhibition, please follow the link.

"Swedish Seeds" Exhibition is in Istanbul

Organised by the Swedish Institute, the Swedish Consulate in Istanbul, Svensk Form and ITU Dept. of Industrial Product Design, the exhibition "Swedish Seeds" was held at ITU Taskisla Campus between 8-27 October 2010. The exhibition presented about 50 products that are representative of Swedish design for children. The products stand out for their design, ergonomics and safety. Sweden is the country with the lowest incidence of accidents involving children. The show highlights the development of models providing children and adults with a healthy and safe environment. Parallel seminars and a workshop with Swedish designers was also held during the exhibition. More information about Swedish Seeds project can be obtained at http://www.swedishseeds.com/. For more information (in Turkish) and pictures from the exhibition at ITU, please follow the link.

Celebrating the World Industrial Design & ITU IPD Alumni Days

The World Industrial Design Day(WIDD) was celebrated with a seminar by Umit Altun, a veteran of the Turkish industrial design community. The seminar was followed by a cocktail party attended by designers, the alumni, students and faculty members of the Dept. of Industrial Product Design. ITU pioneered the celebrations of WIDD in Turkey, organizing the first ever WIDD event in 2008.

ITU joins the CUMULUS

The membership application of ITU Faculty of Architecture was ratified in the General Assembly of International Association of Universities and Colleges of Art, Design and Media (CUMULUS), which took place in 26-29 May 2010, Genk, Belgium. CUMULUS is the largest global network of design education and research with 169 prestigious members from all over the world.

Undergraduate (BSc) Program switches to English in 2010/11

In line with the decision of the ITU Senate, and starting from on the 2010/2011 academic year the undergraduate (BSc) program of Dept. of Industrial Product Design (DIPD) will be fully conducted in English.

Krippendorff's visit to ITU

Prof. Klaus Krippendorff (University of Pennsylvania, USA), one of the leading figures of design theory, visited ITU, and gave an seminar titled as "Human-centered Design: Epistemology, Principles and Key Concepts". Krippendorff's seminar, took place as part of ITU International Design Lectures on 11th of March in Hall 109 of ITU Taskısla Building, attracted the strong interest of, not only the member and students of ITU graduate program of design, but also larger sections of design research and education community in Istanbul. For voice record of Prof. Krippendorff's seminar and a copy of his PPT presentation, please follow the links: pdf - wma

Award Winning Design Project from an ITU Alumnus

With her project "Rescue Bottle", a water purifier that mixes purified water with electrolytes and nutritions, Ceren Bagatar (ITU'02) won CUMULUS Green Award (2009). The award giving ceremony took place on 13 November 2009 at the Melbourne Museum, Australia, during the Cumulus conference 38° South (12-14 November 2009). With the same project, Ceren also won the silver prize in Cumulus International Design Award "Design Inspiring Humanism", and was shortlisted Aspen Design Challenge "Designing Water's Future" competition in 2008. Ceren continues her postgraduate education at Umea Institute of Design, Sweden. Please follow the link for her award winning project.

HDK (Högskolan för Design och Konsthantverk) visit to ITU

A group of design educators from HDK - Högskolan för Design och Konsthantverk (School of Design and Crafts) at Götenborg University in Sweden visited the Dept. of Industrial Product Design on 7th of December 2009. In the seminar realized as part of the groups planned visit, Prof. Alpay Er welcomed the group, and briefly introduced ITU and the IPD department, later Theo Ågren, Henning Eklund and Johnny Friberg all from HDK, made presentations about the undergraduate program, "Business & Design" and hild Culture and Designmaster programs respectively.

4th National Design Congress: "Design or Crisis"

The 4th National Design Congress "Design or Crisis" was held in Taskisla by the ITU Department of Industrial Product Design in 8-9 October 2009. Regularly organized by ITU, National Design Congress is the first and the only refereed national academic meeting in industrial design discipline in Turkey. The keynote speaker of 4th National Design Congress was Professor M.P. Ranjan of NID (India). Follow the link for details (in Turkish)

ITU hosts RCA in Istanbul

Dept of Industrial Product Design hosted a group of staff members and students from the Dept. of Critical and Historical Studies at Royal College of Art (RCA) of the UK. On 21st of April, David Crowley, Glenn Adamson, Sarah Teasley and Christine Guth, all members of the History of Design Programme, the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) and RCA gave lectures in the seminar "Approaching Global Design Histories" organized as part of ITU International Design Lectures series, and kindly supported by the British Council.

ITU student among lebens(t)raeume 2009 award winners

Begum Bercermen, a senior year ITU student, gets a place among the 15 winners in lebens(t)raeume 2009 organized by iF International Forum Design GmbH (Hannover, Germany). lebens(t)raeume 2009 has 174 contributions from 16 different countries. Begum is qualified to win the award with her universal design project. Follow the link for details.

Eczacibasi and ITU agree to support design research

ITU and Eczacibasi Group, one of the largest industrial conglomerates of Turkey, signed a protocol of collaboration to support research studies in the ITU Graduate Program of Industrial Design. According to the agreement signed by ITU Rector Prof.Dr. Muhammed Sahin and Eczacibasi Group CEO Dr. Erdal Karamercan on 3r of March, 2009, Eczacibasi Group, which includes VitrA a leading brand of sanitary equipment in Europe, and ITU have agreed to create a pool of research subjects originated from Eczacibasi Group companies, and to match these subjects with the research students enrolled in the ITU Graduate Program of Industrial Design. ITU Researchers who will work on these subject will be seconded by a monthly scholarship, and also supported by other opportunities of using laboratories and application facilities offered by the companies of Eczacibasi Group. ITU has the largest graduate program of industrial design in Turkey, with more than 120 research students with different disciplinary and professional backgrounds. Among the students are many designers and engineers working in the leading industrial companies of Turkey, and young academics of more than 10 different universities, who pursue their PhDs at ITU. Follow the link for more details. (In Turkish)

ITU is part of International Postgraduate Design Exhibition with Only_Planet_Turkey (2007) project undertaken in "EUT 508E Advanced Design Project" postgraduate studio. The exhibition is hosted by the Sheffield Institute of Art and Design (SIAD), and contains postgraduate design projects from 9 different universities from the UK, Finland, Czech Republic, Poland, and PR China. Sheffield Hallam University, of which SIAD is a part, is one of the leading ERASMUS partners of ITU Dept. of Industrial Product Design.

ITU graduate wins Samsung Young Design Award 2008 in Italy

Maral Kinran, a recent graduate of ITU Dept. of Industrial Product Design has been awarded with the Gold Prize in Samsung Young Design Award 2008. Maral and her colleague Stefania Berselli, both currently pursuing their postgraduate studies at the Politecnico di Milano, designed the Diaby, digital device for diabetic children. 2008 Award Jury included Michele De Lucchi, Fritz Frenkler, Ezio Manzini, Alberto Meda, Richard Sapper and Dick Powell. With the Young Design Award, Samsung aims to establish a strong collaboration between the brand and Italian design, in order to create the "Next Design Generation" to build a strong bond between Samsung and Italy, by highlighting product design and conceptual electronics products/interactions a as key factor to create innovative consumer experience. The Award is only open to industrial and interaction design students enrolled with a design course in Italy (undergraduate or graduate). More information: SYDA 2008.

Two PhD. students from ITU Dept. of Industrial Product Design, Bengi Turgan and Etkin Çiftçi have been have been awarded at the NOVATech EMEA competition and qualified to compete in the Intel + UC Berkeley Technology Entrepreneurship Challenge (IBTEC). Bengi Turgan and Etkin Ciftci will present their project on behalf of their start-up, Bilende-a design and development studio, to a jury formed by academics and investors at the UC Berkeley-Haas School of Business between 18-20 of November. The students are defining their product as "cost effective mobile location based service that provides various content types to the end user". Citewalk has been designed within a user centric model.

ITU design students met Queen Elizabeth II

On 15th of May 2008 as part of her official visit to Turkey Queen Elizabeth II of United Kingdom visited the Design Cities Exhibition at the Istanbul Modern, which focuses on the rise of seven international design cities (London, Vienna, Dessau, Paris, Los Angeles, Milan and Tokyo) over the last two centuries. The exhibition has been staged in collaboration with the Design Museum in London. In the exhibition hall, students and young graduates of ITU Industrial Product Design Department (DoIPD) were introduced to Queen Elizabeth II as young design talents of Turkey who will turn Istanbul into one of the emerging design cities. Four different design projects undertaken at ITU were presented to Queen Elizabeth by young ID graduates and students.

5 Senses of Istanbul - local sources of design innovation

"5 Senses of Istanbul" is an experimental design project, conducted in Advanced Design Project course of the postgraduate ID program of Istanbul Technical University (ITU) in spring 2006. The project, which was inspired by the documentary movie "Crossing the Bridge: Sound of Istanbul" (Dr. Fatih Akin, 2005) was directed by Turkish designer, Aziz Sariyer and the staff of ITU DIPD. Designers such as Inci Mutlu, Tanju Ozelgin and Otto Von Busch also contributed to the project in different stages. Twenty-two students took part in the "5 Senses of Istanbul" project for 4 months. The final prototypes of the chosen design proposals were built with the support of Nurus, a leading Turkish office furniture company. With this project ITU became part of the show in the SaloneSatellite (Salone del Mobile) for the second times in 4 years, and "5 Senses of Istanbul" was exhibited in the Milan Design Week 2007. The project was also exhibited in Istanbul Design Week, 4-10 September 2007.Click for the website of the project

ITU collaborates with Nokia

ITU DIPD has become the first Turkish design school to take part in Nokia' international design education project Only_planet. As part of our collaboration with Nokia, renowned visual design ethnographist Jan Chipchase was in Istanbul to give seminars and work with students of Graduate Program of Industrial Design at ITU. Project outcomes were presented in Design Weeks in Istanbul and Helsinki. Final document of the project Only_Planet Turkey can be downloaded here.

ITU has "Multidisciplinary Approach to Product Innovation"

ITU DIPD students are part of Multidisciplinary Approach to Product Innovation, Socrates Intensive Program (IP), participated by design and engineering schools from seven different European nations. ITU participated to the IP program hosted by HOWEST in Kortrijk/Belgium in 2007 and 2008. For details please click.

ITU student wins "Electrolux Design Lab 2006"

Metin Kaplan, a senior year student of ITU Dept. of Industrial Product Design is the winner of Electrolux Design Lab in 2006, one of the most prestigious student design competitions to which hundreds of projects were submitted by design students from 37 different countries. for details: www.dexigner.comfor Electrolux Design Lab: www.electrolux.com/designlab

Competitive by Design: The Case of Finland

The 7th edition of ITU Industrial Design Meeetings was organized in cooperation with the University of Art & Design Helsinki (UIAH), the Finnish Embassy in Turkey, Design Forum Finland, and the İstanbul Branch of ETMK on December 8th, 2006. The meeting subtitled as "Competitive By Design: The Case of Finland was attended by the Ambassadress of Finland in Turkey, Maria SERENIUS, the Rector of UIAH Prof. Yrjö SOTAMAA and Nokia Design Director Eero MIETTINEN'. At the end of the meeting, an award ceremony for "ETMK Winning By Design 2006" was also held at ITU Taskisla. For the photos of the event, please follow the link.

3rd National Design Congress: "Discussing Design in Turkey"

The 3rd National Design Congresses "Discussing Design in Turkey" was organized by ITU Department of Industrial Product Design in 19-21 June 2006 in Taskisla. Click for details

"Industrial Design for SME's" is the first systematic industrial design project for the SME's in Turkey. The project is conducted during the course "EUT 492 Graduation Design Project" at ITU. Senior DIPD students work with SME's that are members of Istanbul Chamber of Industry. SMEs with no previous experience in industrial design are targeted. The project was first run in 2003 since then it has been conducted every spring semester. More than 160 projects were completed in 7 years. Click for details

"UNIQUE" Home Accessories Exhibition in Istanbul Design Week

The projects of ITU IPD Department 3rd year students prepared in 2004-2005 Fall semester were exhibited in Istanbul Design Week 2005 during 13-18 September on the Galata Bridge. Click for details

Shared Surfaces for Future Workspaces

To see the details of the "Shared Surfaces for Future Workspaces" project that was held in 2004-2005 Spring Semester in the EUT 507E Advanced Design Project course, click for details.

Contemporary Reflections of Art Nouveau

ITU Dept. of Industrial Product Design exhibited products of glass, ceramics, jewelry, shoes and furniture with the subject "Contemporary Reflections of Art Nouveau" in the scope of UIA 2005 in Darhane-i Amire in 30 July - 8 June 2005. For more information and images of the exhibition, click for details.

ITU Alumni among the Wallpaper "10 Most Wanted Designers"

Wallpaper* - International Design, Interiors and Lifestyles magazine has introduced the most talented and promising 10 young designers in its July/August 2005 issue, two of them being the graduates of ITU Industrial Product Design Department. Click for details

ITU students design for SMEs

"ITU and ISO (Istanbul Chamber of Industry) have been collaborating since 2003 and carrying out various projects. The students design for the briefs of the industry and the manufactures in the industry produce them. The number of the projects completed by 2008 is around 160." The newspaper 'Referans' reported the projects held in EUT 492 Graduation Projects run by the collaboration with ISO in 21 June 2005. In his article, the ISO chairman Tanıl Küçük described the project as 'a successful example for the university-industry collaboration'. Click for details

First Turkish Design School to exhibit in the Milan Design Show

On the written invitation of Cosmit in 2002, ITU Department of Industrial Product Design became the first Turkish design school that exhibited student design projects in the Salone Satellite of Milan International Furniture Fair in April 2003. Exhibited design work was created in EUT 311 Product Design Studio course under the name of " The Project Milano" Thirty one students took part in the project in the fall semester of 2002. Full size prototypes and transportation expenses to and from Milano were covered by Koleksiyon, a leading Turkish furniture whose design manager Koray Malhan also acted in the project as a tutor. The project and the exhibition in Milano attracted a great interest, and covered widely in the local Turkish press. For more information and the project catalog, please follow the link.